Join PEEC on a historical hike of Burnt Mesa Pueblo. Dorothy Hoard will lead this popular hike to spectacular viewpoints starting at 10 a.m. Saturday.
In the 1290s, the Ancestral Pueblo people built several villages across the Pajarito Plateau of a special design that archaeologists came to call “plaza sites.” Roomblocks were built in a tight square around a plaza with only one narrow entrance.
The roomblocks were multistoried, even up to five stories high in some places.
The intervening years have eroded the pueblos into mounds resembling giant donuts or bunkers. Burnt Mesa Pueblo is the most accessible of these plaza sites. It has been excavated (but backfilled) so that quite a bit is known about it.
Hoard will share interesting facts about the trails and locations on her historical hikes.
The level hike is two miles round trip. Estimated time is 3 hours, or a bit more if you would like to see the Los Alamos County alligator juniper trees.
Meet at 9:30 a.m. at PEEC or 10 a.m. at the Burnt Mesa trailhead on N.M. 4. Free, no registration required.
The Pajarito Environmental Education Center is located at 3540 Orange Street, behind the high school.
Visit PajaritoEEC.org, call 662-0460, or email Programs@PajaritoEEC.org for more information.

The Pajarito Environmental Education Center hosts popular hike led by Dorothy Hoard.